
Madison McDonald, 30, of Irving, Texas. [Image credit: Irving Police Department]
Security cameras showed that 30-year-old Madison McDonald walked around inside the Irving Police Department lobby for approximately 10 minutes Monday night at around 10 pm before eventually using one of the phones to call 911. On that call she told the dispatcher that she had killed her two daughters.
Irving Police Officer Robert Reeves described her demeanor as "very calm" as she relayed that she had sedated 1-year-old Lilian Mae McDonald and 6-year-old Archer Hammond before tucking them into bed and smothering them.
Officers were sent to her apartment where they found the door open and the two children dead inside. KTVT reports that Archer was found in the master bedroom and Lilian was found in the spare room.
Officers entered the lobby to speak with her where she is said to have "started talking about how her kids were being abused and that she would do anything to protect her children including 'eliminating them'," according to the probable cause affidavit.
McDonald was taken into custody without incident in the lobby and booked on two counts of capitol murder.
Both the Irving Police Department and the Child Protective Services report that they have had previous involvement with the family in the past but would not disclose what that involvement entailed as the investigation remains ongoing.
Despite McDonald's admission to smothering her children, the official cause of death is still pending with the medical examiner.
The Irving Police Department are asking that anyone with information contact them at (972) 273-1010 or by emailing them at ipdcrimetips@cityofirving.org. When contacting them, please reference case number 21-6989.
McDonald made her initial appearance in court on April 7 and was appointed an attorney on the following day. Her next court date is not known at this time.